


The Ever Changing Future

by JadedSkylark (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Family, Homestuck - Freeform, Memories, Multi, Nightmares, Present Day AU, Reincarnation, Trolls are siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2014-06-18
Packaged: 2018-02-05 03:15:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1803286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/JadedSkylark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat Vantas is just a normal teenager, attending his first day of the new school year, but memories from his past, memories he had thought were just dreams, people he had thought were figments of his imagination, all turn out to be true. He was not always human, and now he must find out a way to continue what he started before he was reincarnated on this version of the Earth.. as a human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Blood splattered against the rocks, the red a harsh contrast to the rocks' deep, black exterior. The mutant-blood, the pariah of the trolls, slowly raised up his head, eyes blazing with hatred for the high-bloods who had thrust this torment upon him. He gave a jerk against the shackles that bound him, the metal hissing as it burnt away more skin on his wrists. As he moved, his already open wounds stretched to allow more of his deep red blood flow and stain his skin and the surrounding area. A female's shriek came from nearby, mixing with the sounds of a male's cry and a woman's choked sob. His mother, his friend, and his lover were suffering, but right at that moment, the shackled troll didn't care for anything but his hatred for the high-bloods._

 " _I have been peaceful.._ _**I have been kind.** _ _I only dare to speak what others have been dreaming for so long,” he said, voice beginning to rise. “I had dreams too! Dreams of what might have been_ _where blood was simply blood, and all of us were equal._ _I_ _f wishing for that is heresy, then yes I deserve to die. I have seen acts of the most sublime kindness and the most vile cruelty._ _”_

_The troll swept his gaze across his lover, his mother, and his best friend. They had always been there for him, but it seemed that their loyalty and compassion were going to land them in a far worse place than that which the blood-soaked troll had first imagined. Eyes then caught those of the woman, the monster, who had commanded him here. His lips curled up into a scowl as he looked at her._

_“They say powerful beings find anger when they have no room for love. What made you so? Are you scared of change? Scared of those who are different?”_

_A moment of silence passed as the troll allowed the beast he stared in the eye to mull over his words, but he was far from done; The Sufferer was only beginning. He tried to stand up a bit taller, ignoring the searing pain throughout his body and holding his head high as he continued._

_“ I realize, I am different than you. I have known feelings that none of you can ever hope to know. I have know the comroddary of friend who supported me against all odds; I have known the compassion of a guardian who took me in when no others would and raised me to dream and hope; I have known a love and passion that transcended definition.”_

_The three he spoke of muffled their cries of horror, of sadness, so as to not drawn attention away from the man they cared so dearly for. Their pain was nothing compared to that which he was being subjected to. The three he was closest two did not matter in the face of the monsters who only wished for pain upon the martyr they had captured._

_“There is no use hiding it now,” he almost whispered. “You can all see me for what I am. The Signless, The Sufferer, The Mutant. My blood burns brightly for all to see! It is the flame of a revolution that you cannot ever hope to quell! My memory can be erased, **but my ideals will never die!** “ _

_He pulled against the chains harsher than he had before, shouting once again. This was his last chance, his last sermon, and he could not allow these high-blooded monsters to ignore him. He was through with being ignored. Nothing but death could stop him now._

_“My mistake was believing I could change a world infected by hate and corruption. You've taken the freedom of an innocent troll and turned his blessings into a **curse** !” The troll turned his gaze back to his loved ones. “The pity you have taken on my Disciple will wound her. She's known true love and you've forced her into a life of **solitude.** You've forced a mother to **watch her son die!** ” _

_He jerked at his chains once again, blood flowing down his body quicker as they burned into his skin and created deeper. He wasn't trying to get away, but he was trying to make a point. He didn't have much time left, so he had to keep their attention on what he was saying. Upon looking back to the Empress, the troll could already see the high-bloods preparing to land the final blow upon him. He needed to hurry. His time was almost up- and he had only just begun. His voice grew slightly panicked._

_“I see you for what you are! I always fucking have! I thought I could **fucking change you!** Fuck me for being a **fucking fool!** ” he screamed, voice straining as he got louder. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! **FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!** FUCK!”_

_The trolls breathing slowed, only a second passing before he spoke once again, quieter this time. His time was up._

_“I am angry because I forgive you. I must be the biggest fucking fool in Alternia, but when I close my eyes, I see a world where we all work **together** , and it's so fucking beautiful...”_

_The troll kept his gaze locked with the Empress, head held high in defiance. Even as she raised her hand to give the signal, even as his love shrieked in horror at the giving of such a signal, even as the Grand Highblood shouted for The E%ecutor's weapon to be at the ready, even as The E%ecutor drew the bowstring back, the troll did not let his bravado waver. He could not allow them to win, and he knew that even with his death, there would be another to come, another to continue his dreams. This was not the end. This was only the beginning of a new world._

_He saw was his love fleeing, saving herself, and for good reason, too. It brought a smile to his lips, despite the pain that would soon bring about his demise. Just as The Signless looked back to The E%ecutor, the blue arrow had been let loose._

_The Signless looked to the dreaming child, the child who was terrified as he watched, unable to tear his eyes away from the horrifying scene before him. The troll's lips moved, his words inaudible to all but the dreaming boy._

_“Continue my dream as you live your second life, Karkat.”_

_The arrow struck and the world went black._

 

* * *

 

 

Kankri Vantas bolted up in his bed at the sound of a scream from his brother's room. He scrambled up and ran across the hall, throwing open the doors that blocked his path. Karkat Vantas sat up straight in his bed, drenched in sweat and eyes wide in horror. The boy's breathing was dangerously quick and uneven, which only pushed Kankri more in his need to help the younger boy.

The elder jerked open a nearby drawer and pulled out the other's inhaler. It was rushed as he shoved the inhaler into his brother's hand, helping Karkat take in the medicine. Minutes passed before the room was silent once again, but the fear in the younger's eyes stayed.

Kankri slowly placed the inhaler aside, taking his younger brother in his arms and holding him close. He stroked the younger's hair, trying to comfort him as the elder brother would when Karkat was younger. After minutes of quiet, the elder finally spoke up.

“Was it the same one as you've had before?”

Karkat tensed up, giving a half nod after Kankri began to stroke his hair again. The younger rested his head against his brother's chest, faint white hair standing out against the black of Kankri's pajama shirt.

“Sort of,” Karkat whispered. “The thing looked a lot more like you this time, but.. it wasn't. This time it was shot and killed.”

The smaller curled up smaller, the image of blood seared into his vision. The blood had been everywhere.. he could practically still feel it on his hands. Kankri only tightened his arms around his brother, staying silent for once in his life to actually be able to listen to the younger whole-heartedly.

“There was so much.. so much blood,” Karkat whispered, shutting his eyes tight in an attempt to get rid of the image. He hated blood with a passion and grew queasy any time he saw it, so the massive amount he had seen dripping from the Signless's body was enough to almost make him gag.

Kankri nodded slightly, listening as his brother retold, in full detail, what had happened in the dream, only neglecting to mention the words the troll had spoken at the end. It was enough to make even the elder a bit unsettled. He pushed aside his own feelings, though, in favor of listening to his brother and helping him relieve the stress and despair the dream had thrust upon him.

The two didn't know, though, that this was just the beginning of the more gruesome dreams, of the past flooding back into their lives. One would think that being reincarnated onto a different planet, into a different body, as another _species_ even, would cause the past to stop, to cease bothering the soul of the one it was attached to, but this is not true. The past never stops; it simply changes course.

 


	2. Chapter 2

_A light haired male came into Karkat's vision, the otherwise dark room brightening significantly from the deep red of his clothes. His eyes were hidden by shades, but for some reason, Karkat knew what was hidden by those dark lenses. The boy's mouth was turned downward in a frown, seriousness radiating from his person._

_“Time is irrelevant,” he whispered, his tone full of regret. “Blood keeps even time going.”_

_A female, cloaked in orange robes, walked up beside the male, a smile set on her lips. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief, but she seemed serious aside from that. The girl placed a hand on the red-clothed male's shoulder, her gaze locked on the dreaming human._

_“Light shines bright in those who believe,” she murmured, holding Karkat's gaze. “Blood glows brighter in those who know.”_

_A grey being came into view, dragging Karkat's attention away from the violet-eyed girl. The boy felt his eyes widen, feeling as if this troll-girl looked too much like the elder in the gruesome nightmare that plagued him. The troll looked worried to death, and took the human girl's hand as soon as she could. Karkat watched as the two shared a look of trust before the troll turned and faced him._

_“Space is not the sole source of power, of life,” her voice wavered as she spoke, the smile obviously forced. “Blood is necessary for life to be true.”_

_Off to the side, a cough could be heard. Karkat turned his head, panic rising when he saw yet another of these grey-skinned beasts. The red and blue glasses this one wore glinted in what little light presented itself in the room. It lifted it's head to look at the dreaming boy but stayed where it was, leaning against the wall. Karkat nearly gasped, recognizing this one too as someone who looked similar to the trolls in his first nightmare._

_“Doom is imminent.” This grey-skinned boy had a lisp that grew more prominent than Karkat recalled. He silently wondered how he could even remember something like that before the troll continued. “But blood ceases even doom from becoming the end.”_

_Footsteps echoed behind Karkat, causing him to swirl around, a flash of blue passing him by. He slowly turned back, spotting another troll-girl, but this one.. She looked like the lover of the troll in his nightmares, but he knew that couldn't be true. This one was dressed nothing similar, but she did have a certain cat-like quality about her. Karkat almost smiled at the thought, but quickly brushed that away to listen to her instead._

_“Love is futile in the development of a new life.” The cat-like troll grinned, trying to appear serious and failing.“But not as futile as blood is.”_

_The humans and trolls looked at the dreaming boy, silence creeping into the room. Karkat was sure he was about to wake up; his dreams never had moments of silence. He looked back at them, looking over each in half-confusion. He **knew** these faces, some more so than others, but he didn't know **how**. He had never met these people, these things, in his life._

_Just as Karkat was going to open his mouth to ask what their names were, the beings before him turned their gaze to someone behind him. Karkat scrunched his eyebrows together, confusion taking over where fear once was. Taking a chance, Karkat turned his head to glance behind him. A grey hand reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt. The young boy's eyes widen in shock upon seeing a troll version of himself, a scowl firmly set upon those lips. It was like looking into a distorted mirror, one that changed even the species of the observer. Karkat opened his mouth to scream, to speak, anything if it meant he could get away from the frightening version of himself that gripped his shirt tightly between those claws._

_“You say one fucking word, and I'll end you right here and now,” the other him said, his voice scratchy and rough against Karkat's ears. “I don't care if you **are** me, I won't hesitate to do it.” _

_Karkat shut his mouth, scared of what this dream had become. He could feel every breath, hear every shuffle, see every detail upon the face of the troll who held him so painfully tight. He gave a nod, willing himself to not piss his pants. He didn't want to seem like a baby, even if he was only nine in this dream, and this **was** just a dream, after all._

_The troll version of the dreaming boy gave a nod, loosening his grip on Karkat's shirt. He crossed his arms, looking down at Karkat with a hint of disdain, of disgust._

_“Don't forget who you fucking are. This is my second chance, your second chance, at getting everyone a happy ending. You're the fucking leader; got it?” Karkat gave a nod, trying not to shake at the ferocity in the troll's voice._

_The troll sighed, kneeling down to be at the same height as the young boy. “You can do this. Don't fail your friends like I did.”_

 

* * *

 

Karkat was shaking as he awoke, his breaths coming in short gasps. He kept his screams swallowed, not wanting to wake his brother like he would have when he was younger. It had been years since Karkat had had any of his nightmares, and the brothers had thought they were finally gone. That one had been his last, appearing and stopping at the age of nine. Unfortunately, it seemed they had been wrong, and now sixteen, Karkat loathed the idea of these nightmares staring again. He just wished that he hadn't had the one he had had when he was so tiny.

Karkat groaned softly, throwing his legs off the side of his bed. Sitting up, he stretched his arms above his head, tilting his head side-to-side a few times. He let his eyes slide over to the clock on his bedside table.

3:18 a.m.

“Fuck,” he breathed, flopping back onto his bed and throwing an arm over his eyes. “Just because I'm starting Sophmore year today _does not mean_ I need to wake up so fucking early, body. _Jesus!_ ”

Without wasting another moment, Karkat pushed himself to his feet and made his way into the bathroom. He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so he might as well go ahead and get ready for school. It was better than doing nothing for three hours.

Karkat passed a mirror, not even bothering to look at himself. White hair that stood out and never behaved, red eyes that created whispers of disgust where ever he went: needless to say, Karkat hated how he looked. It drew unwanted attention to him, caused him to hate those who hadn't been born with this defect.

Kankri, his brother, on the other-hand, didn't mind looking the way he did. Even with his red eyes and white hair, he flaunted his looks, gaining attention from girls and boys alike, despite his being strictly celibate. Despite being an albino, Kankri never had others bullying him for his looks, never had people curse his existence. Karkat speculated that the only reason this was may have been because no one wanted to hear his brother go on about how triggering bullying was, but this had never been confirmed by anyone.

Karkat shook his head, shutting up the thoughts that ran through his mind. Without another internal word, the teen pulled off his clothes, tossing them in no particular direction, and got into the shower. The water burned his back, but Karkat couldn't find it in himself to give a damn about it.

Hours passed before the hot water had been used up, forcing Karkat out of the water and back to the real world. He dried off quickly, realizing it had taken him longer to shower than he had first thought it had. He found a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, not bothering to look in the mirror to check how his hair looked.

He rushed down the stairs, the smell of nearly burnt pancakes making its way to his nostrils. Karkat wrinkled his nose in disgust as he walked into the kitchen, spotting his brother at the stove. Kankri stood before the burning pancakes, oblivious to the smell or just how _obviously_ burnt they were. The elder male was humming a song he always seemed to be humming, but he didn't turn around as Karkat walked in.

“Jesus fuck, Kankri, can you even _smell_ how burnt those god-awful excuses for pancakes are?” Karkat scolded, his voice a bit too loud in order to catch his brother's attention.

Kankri jumped, turning around with the handle of the pan still in one hand and the spatula in his other. The elder gave Karkat a scolding look, shaking his head before turning back around to continue burning the pancake to a crisp.

“Brother, how many times have I told you not to use such foul language in our home? It sullies the image of the perfect home, as well as does it trigger me to hear such offensive language spewing from the mouth of my little brother.” Kankri continued speaking, having been "triggered" by Karkat's “foul language,” but the younger of the two decided not to even bother listening and tuned Kankri's words out.

The teen took a seat at their small dinner table. It had been just the two of them for so long that they had sold the bigger one in favor of one that would give the two brothers more room in their apartment. It had been Karkat's idea, and Kankri hadn't liked it, nor had he agreed with it, at first. After a few weeks of convincing, Karkat had finally be able to persuade his brother into selling the old table.

Glancing around the kitchen, Karkat saw what he had seen almost every day of his life. The room was dark in comparison to the others, the walls being a deep red color and the counter-tops being grey. It wasn't like Karkat minded, but sometimes he did wish it was a little less red in their apartment. He hated the color, after all.

“-so please do refrain from using such triggering language. You may not know if someone is triggered by it, but if they are, you could be upset-”

Karkat let out a loud groan, rolling his eyes upon realizing his brother was still going on about triggering language.

“Kankri, just shut up already!”

The elder froze, blinking in shock at how his brother had shouted at him. Karkat sighed, waving a hand and lowering his head.

“Sorry, sorry,” he muttered, hoping that he hadn't set his brother off about anything else this time.

Kankri gave a soft nod, sliding the burnt pancakes onto a plate. He set the plate in front of his brother as he handed over a fork. Karkat looked up and saw his older brother smile at him.

“Eat up. You have school today.”

Karkat lowered his head back down and took the fork, digging into the crispy pancakes. Even if they were burnt, he never turned down Kankri's cooking; it was the only thing the elder was self-conscious about, so of course Karkat would be a caring younger brother and make sure he didn't make Kankri feel worse about it.

After finishing breakfast, Karkat said his goodbye to Kankri, grabbed his bag from the living room, and made his way to school. He had never liked having to walk to school, but after spotting a familiar, shaded face in a passing car, Karkat was secretly glad that he had to walk to school.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The science classroom was loud, much too loud for Karkat's liking. He could feel his irritation rise with every word said by the ignorant students he would be sharing the classroom with for the duration of the first hour of his day. It made him want to claw his ears out when the girls would shriek, reunited with their friends they had already seen only days before. The sound of the boys laughing and slapping each other on the back grated on the teens ears.

“Fucking kill me now,” he muttered, letting his face slam down against his desk.

Karkat ignored the sound of a chair being pulled out beside him, sure it was just another student grabbing a chair to sit with his or her friends. His forehead began to ache as he continued to press it into the wood of the desk with more force than needed. Silence filled his ears as he blocked out the annoyances in his class called students.

“Hey, Kit-kat, it's been a while since I've seen you.”

The sudden appearance of the voice next to his ear startled the teen, sending a wave of shock through his body. He bolted up, eyes wide as he turned to face the person next to him. Karkat was met with his own reflection, dulled by the black of the other teen's shades. He quickly leaned away, focusing instead on the entirety of the other male's appearance. The other's blonde hair was swept to the side above his shades, a soft smirk on his lips. His expression was playful yet happy, but confusion was the only thing Karkat felt.

“'Been a while'? Who the fuck are you?” he growled, narrowing his eyes at the one in front of him.

The blonde chuckled, turning to face the front of the classroom. He crossed his arms behind his head before speaking.

“Should've known you're too dumb to remember the hella fine me,” he began. “The name's Dave Strider. Nice to _re_ -meet you.”

Karkat went silent, scowling at Dave; he recognized the teen, but there was no way that he would actually remember him. They had never met outside of his dreams before! He turned away, glaring forward at the front of the classroom.

“I've never met you,” he muttered, ignoring flashes of dreams from years ago. _No, those are just fucked up dreams I had._

Dave gave a shrug. “Whatever you say, Karkat.”

The smaller waited for the teacher in silence, hoping that whoever their teacher was would give a seating chart. However, much to Karkat's disgust, he was still sitting beside Dave after the chart was set. The class went by slowly, but Dave didn't say another word to the former-troll. Karkat practically ran out of the classroom as the bell rang, urgently wanting to get away from the “cool-kid” next to him.

Karkat dodged around the people in the hallway as quickly as he could, ducking and dodging around those who were in his way. Being able to scoot around people easily was the only advantage to being small.

Karkat nearly tripped as he pushed out of a group of people and ducked into a classroom. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was in the correct classroom. Without a glance at the other students, who he was sure were staring, Karkat scurried to an open desk and sat down. Preoccupying himself by pulling out his books, Karkat didn't notice anyone walk up behind him. Just as he pulled out his binder, there was a tap on his shoulder.

“What do yo-,” he began, turning around to glare at the person who had disturbed him. He stopped at seeing the girl towering over him, her brunette hair short and her skin dark in comparison to Karkat's.

He scowled lightly, unsettled by her kind smile. No one but his brother ever smiled at him like that. He quickly looked up at her, making eye contact to show that he wasn't intimidated by her. Karkat opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off.

“Is there anyone sitting there?” she asked, pointing to the open desk beside the white-haired boy.

He glanced over at the desk and shrugged, turning back around to fiddle with his belongings. “Hell if I know. Usually no one sits beside me unless forced to,” he responded, not seeming to pay much attention to her now.

The girl continued to smile and took a seat, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and revealing piercings trailed down it. Karkat ignored her, scowling into his bag as he searched around for his pencil. He muttered profanities as he realized that it must has been left in his rush to leave his first class and get away from that Strider boy. After all the things he had seen in his dreams, he couldn't stand the boy.

“Are you missing something?”

Karkat turned his head and looked at the girl, noticing how bright her green eyes were in comparison to her Indian features. He sighed and dropped his bag on the floor beside his seat.

“Yes, I'm missing my pencil,” he grumbled, obviously unhappy with speaking to other living beings. Karkat wasn't in a pleasant mood, and he wasn't about to pretend that he was.

The girl nodded, smiling as she picked up her own pencil and held it out to him. Karkat looked at the writing utensil curiously. He finally reached out and hesitantly took it from her. Muttering a “Thanks,” Karkat turned back to the front of the classroom, hoping to not have to speak to the other again. He felt like he knew her, but the teen couldn't place where from. He was getting an uneasy feeling about it.

The Indian girl pulled out another pencil for herself before turning back to the white-haired boy. She smiled, aware of his discomfort.

“I'm Kanaya Maryam,” she said, voice soft and proper.

Karkat internally groaned, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She was trying to make conversation. Maybe if he ignored her, Karkat wouldn't have to deal with it. Although he felt bad about it, Karkat kept his lips shut.

Kanaya sighed. “You're Karkat Vantas, correct?”

He froze. How did she know his name? He turned his head to face her, giving a curt nod. She smiled in return, glad to have been right.

“Oh, good. I was afraid I had gotten the wrong person,” she said in relief, pulling an envelope from her book bag. “I'm suppose to give this to you.”

Karkat looked at the envelope curiously. It didn't look dangerous or suspicious, so he reached his hand out and took it. The paper was soft, not any normal paper envelope that Karkat had seen before. He looked back up at Kanaya, who had already turned back away and was rearranging her things on her desk.

 _Well, she's useless now,_ Karkat couldn't help but think.

The teen turned his gaze back to the envelope in his hand. Maybe it would be a good idea to open it, but not here. He didn't trust the students around him, and class was about to start soon anyway. A sigh slipped past his lips as he shook his head. Better save the envelope for later.

He dropped the envelope into his bag and turned to the front of his class, ready to get this over with. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with these weird people all day, but it seemed he was going to have to whether he liked it or not.

 


End file.
